1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Civil Legal Services (Statutory Charge) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2015 and shall come into operation on 1st April 2015.
(2) Subject to paragraph (3), the instruments set out in the Schedule to these Regulations shall be revoked to the extent shown in that Schedule.
(3) Nothing in the provisions revoked by these Regulations shall take effect in relation to any of the circumstances to which Article 3(1)(a) to (d) of the Access to Justice (2003 Order) (Commencement No. 7, Transitional Provisions and Savings) Order (Northern Ireland) 2015(1) applies.
2. In these Regulations, unless the context requires otherwise—
“advice”, “assistance” and “representation” have the respective meanings given by Article 2(2) of the Order;
“certificate” means a certificate issued under the General Regulations certifying a decision to fund representation for the client;
“civil legal services” has the meaning given by Article 10 of the Order;
“client” means an individual who applies for or receives funded services and, in the case of actual or contemplated proceedings, is a party or prospective party to the proceedings;
“client’s costs order” and “client’s costs agreement” mean, respectively, an order and an agreement that another party to proceedings or prospective proceedings pay all or part of the costs of a client;
“the Department” means the Department of Justice;
“the Financial Regulations” means the Civil Legal Services (Financial) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2015(2);
“funded services” means services which are provided directly for a client and funded for that client by the Department as part of civil legal services under Articles 10 to 20 of the Order;
“the funded sum” means the amount of remuneration payable by the Department to a supplier for the relevant work under the Civil Legal Services (Remuneration) Order (Northern Ireland) 2015(3) or other arrangements that determine that supplier’s remuneration;
“the General Regulations” means the Civil Legal Services (General) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2015(4);
“the Order” means the Access to Justice (Northern Ireland) Order 2003;
“partner” means a person with whom the person concerned lives as a couple, and includes a person with whom the person concerned is not currently living but from whom the person concerned is not living separate and apart;
“person concerned” means the person—
whose eligibility is to be assessed; or
whose resources are to be treated as the resources of the client under the Financial Regulations;
“recovered”, in relation to property or money, means property or money recovered or preserved by a client, whether for the client or for any other person;
“relevant dispute” means the dispute in connection with which funded services are provided;
“relevant proceedings” means proceedings in connection with which funded services are provided;
“relevant work” means the funded services provided in relation to the dispute or proceedings to which the client’s costs order or client’s costs agreement relates;
“remuneration” includes fees and disbursements and value added tax on fees and disbursements;
“representation (higher courts)” and “representation (lower courts)” have the respective meanings given by regulation 2 of the General Regulations;
“solicitor” means solicitor of the Court of Judicature;
“statutory charge” means the charge created by Article 17(7) of the Order in respect of the amount defined in regulation 3;
“supplier” means the solicitor or body being requested to provide or providing funded services to the client.